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Mathematisch-Naturwissenschaftliche FakultätDepartment Geowissenschaften

DaF German as a Foreign Language courses

The deadline for applications for financial support by and to get registered through the GSGS is 10th December, 2025.

The DaF (Department 'German as a Foreign Language') offers a variety of German as a Foreign Language Courses for international students, including doctoral candidates: 

For beginners: Self-learning course (early April/October - mid July/end January; 4 hours self learning via Ilias, 2 hours tutorial on Zoom per week, 2 hours of tutored self-study, 2 hours for homework)

  • only for absolute beginners: Level A1; you can find further information here
  • 20th April 2026 to 31st July 2026

For advanced German level: Summer/winter semester courses typically run throughout the semester (early April/October - mid July/end January; 6 hours á 45 min per week)

  • 20th April 2026 to 31st July 2026

To participate in the course, you need to have a UniKIM to enter the provided Ilias course.

Placement tests
If you are not enrolled in a DaF course at the moment, but you have previous knowledge, you will have to do a placement test between these dates:

  • 1st to 10th December 2025 (23.59h)
  • 1st to 10th February 2026 (23.59h)

If you need to do a placement test, click on this link during the dates above: https://uni.koeln/PTQ9J. Please make sure to enter your real name and your private or university mail address.

For more information on the courses check the DaF website here ("General Language Courses").

Course participation costs a flat rate of 250 Euro per semester.

To register, please fill out this form by December 10th 2025. The Faculty of Mathematics and Natural Sciences will cover the participation costs for the summer semester 2026. The GSGS will forward your registration request to the Department DaF / GaFL.

In principle, the GSGS will cover the costs for two semesters per person and longer in well-substantiated cases. However, this is subject to the availability of funds. If you are interested in receiving this support from the GSGS, fill out the form below. To qualify for financial support by the GSGS, you need to be up-to-date with your GSGS reporting e.g. Supervision Agreement and regular TAC Status Reports.